By The Time You Read This, It's Too Late
by Lordoftheghostking28
Summary: It's too late now. We're in the School...and to make matters worse, they've caught three offworlders...offworlders with strange, amazing power...
1. Prologue

**Hello, Everyone! I'm back! And I'm uploading again! (COUGH COUGH...41st STORY...COUGH TOO MUCH) Erm...anyway...please enjoy the story. More to be uploaded later, I guess. When I have time to write it and stuff. **

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**PROLOGUE**

I knew we weren't alone in this universe.

Call me crazy…I just knew it. I also knew danger would settle on these offworlders as soon as they stepped foot on our soil. I knew the Whitecoats would find them…just as they had hunted us down when we escaped. It was just our luck; our luck we found them first and then the Whitecoats found all of us.

Now Angel and I are gone. Taken.

Taken —along with the offworlders—by the Whitecoats.

**XxXxXxXx**


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

"Max, I'm hungry,"

"Me too,"

"Can we head to Taco Bell?"

The look on Nudge's face was almost too much to take at once. I nearly burst out laughing from our dark hiding place, despite the danger. We were perched in tall, leafy trees, keeping eyes and ears out for the approaching Whitecoats. They knew we were here, thanks to the Erasers. One second, everything was fine; the next…Erasers were crashing through the bushes coming our way. That's how we ended up in the tree.

"Maybe later, guys." I said, really hoping that there'd _be_ a later. We've escaped death and capture too many times to count…maybe our luck will finally run out.

Over my dead body.

"On second thought, I hate Taco Bell. Let's go to Olive Garden," The Gasman said. "they have food, right?"

The rustle of leaves tore me away from my thoughts of steaming pasta. Fang leaned up against a branch nearby, whispering, "Is it just me, or is it too quiet right now?"

I quickly shushed the Flock, listening hard. He was right…

…until the loud scream cut the silence like a sharp knife.

I instantly took action, leaping further into the tree and pulling Iggy, Angel and Nudge with me. We flattened ourselves against the hard bark of the tree, hardly daring to breathe. I had a small opening between two branches I was using as a window to look out at the world.

A loud, pained howl of an Eraser made chills creep up my spine. Another scream, this one different and shouting. A flashlight beam split the air and I made out the long scraggly shadows of the mutants that were leading the way for the Whitecoats.

A stick snapped beneath the tree we were in and Angel gripped my windbreaker's sleeve tightly. "Max…?" She squeaked.

"It's ok, Angel. It's just a deer." I said, more or less trying to comfort myself too.

"Quickly!" A hushed whisper came from below. I jumped, trying to stare down into the depth of the tree but seeing only darkness. A long moan followed the whisper, and then nothing at all.

I turned my attention back to the Whitecoats, still keeping a slight watch on the people below my tree. I saw an Eraser poking around a few bushes, but finding nothing. A man in a white lab coat and dark sunglasses stepped up to him, shouting loudly, "What do you mean, you lost them? They were right in front of you!"

All I could hear were another Eraser's whimpers for a few seconds—had it been hurt?— and then the man announced, "Head back to HQ. We'll come up with a plan there. Move out."

I waited until they were a good five minuets walking distance away from us before turning my attention back to the base of the tree.

"Who's down there? Max? What's going on?" Iggy asked nervously.

Fang dived out of the tree leaves and snapped open his wings, slowly drifting silently to the ground. He motioned for me to follow, getting in a fighting stance as he did so.

"Get ready to fight. We might have to." I told the others. I leapt out of the tree and threw myself at the ground.

Someone concealed in the darkness of the tree shouted loudly, and something connected solidly with my side, sending me spinning backwards, wings flailing uselessly. Fang began throwing punches at the dark and the others joined in before Angel said clearly, "Stop!"

Both us and our mysterious visitors stopped, us because we never heard force like that in Angel's voice and they because it was so sudden.

"Hold on…" Nudge muttered, unslinging a small backpack from her shoulder and fishing out the crummy flashlight we found abandoned in a small alley. After a few hits of it to her hand, it blinked to life and we saw our visitors.

The blue one that was standing looked ready to collapse with exhaustion. Another white one's back was pressed tightly to the tree trunk, staring at us in total fear, and the dark third one was curled tightly in a ball, moaning slightly. We were absolutely terrified of each other.

"Who are you?" Nudge demanded.

The one that had its back pressed up against the tree pulled its knees up to its chest, still never taking its eyes off of us. I glanced at Angel, who's eyes were wide with fascination. She looked at me after sensing she was being watched by more than the creatures and said, "They're being chased by the Whitecoats."

"Leave us alone!"

I jumped at the unfamiliar voice. Blue had taken a step towards us, wincing as he did so. I began to wonder how long they've been on the run, but that thought quickly pushed itself out of my head. The creature absentmindedly ran one white-gloved hand over what looked like blue quills sticking out the back of his head. His piercing green gaze never left me. "Leave us alone!"

The white creature muttered something inaudible even to us. Blue turned and asked, "What? Are they coming back?"

"No, not them…it's…w-we can trust them."

"We can't trust anyone."

A stick snapped to our right. Nudge switched the flashlight off and all six of us leapt into the air. Something shot past my head, but I didn't stop for a second. Only when I heard the shouts did I turn around and hover in midair.

"MAX!"

Angel had become entangled in a net and was falling towards the ground. I dived after her, grabbing the side of the net before it could hit the ground. Something hit me to the side and clamped a large fist over my neck, keeping me from moving. I hoped the rest of the Flock made it out ok.

A bright searchlight split the darkness and I saw the scarred and mutated face of the Eraser holding me in a death grip. I recognized him immeadentally.

"Ari…" I gasped.

He smiled, pointed teeth making my skin crawl. "Nice to see you again, Max. Who're your new friends?"

He allowed me to turn my head to the side. From the bright lights, I could see that Fang had lead everyone else away into the night...everyone except Angel, the strange offworlders and I.

I could only watch as a Whitecoat brought Blue down almost singlehandedly. He didn't have the strength to fight. The white one nearly succeeded in climbing the tree, but an Eraser hooked curved claws into his ankle and brought him down. The Whitecoats descended on him and quickly rendered him unconscious.

"Why…?" I choked out.

"_Why_? Max, you know why." Ari growled.

Out of the three aliens, the dark one proved to be the strongest. Although already wounded— probably from another Eraser— he put up quite a fight. Pure energy crackled from his fingertips, disposing of six Whitecoats and three Erasers before a tall scientist pulled a strange gun from a case and shot what looked like a three legged claw at him. It wrapped itself around his injured arm and let out a sharp crack of electricity. He stood for a second longer before falling heavily.

"That's all of them. We'll look for the others like her later. Let's go." The scientist said, casting me a loathsome glare.

I gripped at Ari's strong hand but didn't make him release me in the slightest. He grabbed the front of my jacket and lifted me from the ground, slamming me face-first in the dirt. Someone latched thick handcuffs around my wrists and ankles and a special restraint was fitted around my wings. No hope of escaping.

I was dragged back to my feet. Angel was shoved alongside me, and we began to march through the forest.

"M..Max? Where are we going? There's no School here…is there?" Angel whispered.

"Maybe they built another." I answered as silently as she had asked. "But even if they did, that won't stop us from escaping. We will get back with the Flock, we-"

"No talking!" Ari hit me hard, sending me stumbling.

"Well, excuse me." I growled.

Before long, something loomed into view. Well, it was more of an outline than anything else. Even with my enhanced eyesight…this was hard to see.

We entered a small room and the entire thing lurched sideways…then down. Just as I thought I was going to lose my lunch and dinner, two doors slid open and I was nearly blinded by the pure white walls.

The School.

The name we had given these 'Research Facilities.'

"In there." Ari barked, shoving me towards a cold, gray door with a small barred window near the top. I entered unwillingly, Angel following.

"Oh, not you." Came one of the scientist's voices.

"Angel! ANGEL!" I shouted, lunging forward. Ari slammed the door in my face, and I ran into it because my hands were tied behind my back. I kept shouting.

"_ANGEL!_"

"Relax! She'll be back here shortly." Another of the Erasers assured me in a evil chuckle. A small door was shut over the window, leaving me nearly in complete darkness if it wasn't for the cracks along the door.

I sunk to the floor and continued screaming for my Flock member.

** XxXxXxXx**

Within the hour someone came and unchained me. After they left, I regained enough of my senses to begin looking around. So much had happened in the last two hours or so.

The gray room I was in extended for about ten long steps in every direction. A bed with a single thin sheet was pressed up against one wall. Other than that, there wasn't anything else.

Except the small window above the bed linking two cells together. It was small, barely wider than one arm-length. A single thick bar separated me from the other cell, which was the same as mine. I examined the bar, surprised to see tiny indents around the top and bottom of it, as though someone or something with sharp claws had pried away at this for some time. I gave it a hard shake and my heart leapt for joy. It was loose enough to shake free, but I would need some time.

Before I could start on my plan, my cell door was roughly unlatched and yanked open. Angel stumbled into the cell, clothes from earlier gone and replaced with a small white hospital gown that would have been a simple dress had it not been for the faded bloodstain on the back between two slits for her wings. She saw me and darted to me, burying her face in my clothes. "Max!"

Before I could respond, Ari marched over and grabbed my arm, forcing me to my feet and towards the door. "Your turn."

I resisted him until I got a load of the weapons the Whitecoats were holding.

I was dragged down at least three halls before we came to a stop at another plain door. Ari forced it open and I stepped into what could only be described as a doctor's examination room.

Until I laid eyes on the nightmarish discarded equipment in the corner.

Something hit me in the back of my head with a soft poof. I grabbed the hospital gown and stared back at Ari.

"Don't worry, we'll leave." He said, mock bowing and leaving to the snickers of the Whitecoats.

I figured for the sake of Angel and myself, I should change. I quickly undressed down to my undergarments and redressed in the gown they had thrown at me. The cuts in the back weren't nearly big enough for my wings and I spent nearly a minuet on each one trying to force it through.

"Would it _kill_ you to tailor things a little more professionally?" I asked loudly to no one in particular.

The door opened and three Whitecoats entered, getting right to work. Although, in my opinion, it was me doing it. They told me to sit down…then stand up…sit down again…stand up again…bend down, touch my toes, extend my wings and flap a few times, read this tiny piece of paper halfway across the room…now read this one all the way across the room…the list was endless.

After about half an hour of that pointless junk they took multiple blood samples and then asked a ton of questions, most of which I had a sarcastic answer to. Finally either getting all they needed from me or growing tired of my remarks, they sent for Ari to bring me back to the cell.

"Max, are you ok?" I was greeted by Angel's wide, scared eyes.

"Never better." I said, running my hand through her hair. Ari slammed the cell door with a loud bang. I found my eyes wondering over to the small window separating the two cells.

"I could hear their thoughts."

I glanced down at her, a strange look on my face. "What?"

"The Whitecoats. They're going to use the offworlders to get the rest of the Flock. I don't know why, they always left before I could find out…but something to do with power. Lots of it. I think they're going to take this power from the aliens and use it against us…and…"

"Tell me everything." I said, going over to the small bed and taking a seat on the edge of it. Angel leaned up against my shoulder.

She nodded, as if trying to find suitable words. "…I think if they take this power, they'll die. I saw images in their minds too. There was a white room…it was bright…I think I saw one of them…Max…it was horrible!"

A clang at the door caught my attention. I watched as Ari opened the door and set down a small tray. A thick glop sloshed over the sides of the two bowls on it. He gave us a smirk and said, "Enjoy!" before leaving with a loud chuckle.

Angel hopped off the bed and retrieved the tray, as if glad for a distraction. She handed me a bowl along with a silver spoon. "This actually doesn't look too bad."

One spoonful of the mush said otherwise. But I fought to keep it down because, hey, food is food.

I licked the spoon off and stared at it for a while. My distorted reflection stared back until my gaze settled on the small outline behind me.

The window had already been pried at before…maybe something hard would help break it open. Something like a spoon, perhaps? It was a long shot, but I had to try it.

I struck where the bar met the plaster, satisfied to see a deep dent. I hit it again, a chip breaking off and settling on the bed. Angel watched with interest and a bit of confusion until she dropped her spoon into her bowl and said in hardly a whisper, "Erasers!"

I heard footsteps, although faint. Then a hard stomp and the sound of a fist connecting with someone's face. A loud, wolf-like howl reverberated down the hall and multiple snarls followed it. The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up as Ari screamed, "Get it! Don't let it escape!"

Heavy footfalls…and then nothing at all.

Neither Angel or I said anything for a full five minuets.

"What was that about?" she finally managed to squeak out.

"I was going to ask you that. Can't you read peoples' minds?" I crossed over to the cell's door and tried in vain to see around the thick bars of a window.

** XxXxXxXx**

Ari stood over his fallen prey. It had somehow fought its way out of one of the labs and escaped into the hall, nearly making it to freedom had Ari not been on guard. Now it was staring at him with wide eyes, its back pressed against the wall and one hand clasped tightly over its arm, trying to stop the blood from pouring out the long deep scratches Ari had inflicted on it.

"You're right to try to escape," Ari growled. He imagined his full-out Eraser form was intimidating. He was nearly three times the size of the creature in front of him. "the Whitecoats are agreeing with one another that you're useless. Unable to hold real power, but able to channel it. Unfortunately, we need at the moment, power."

Ari lunged out and grabbed the creature by the neck, forcing its head up. He dug one long, crooked claw into the center of its throat. "I'm going to have fun killing you." He growled. "You'll suffer like I had to become what I am."

He tightened his hand around its throat. The creature only managed a strangled whimper as Ari's fist got tighter. He could feel its pulse pounding almost too fast to keep track of, but after a few seconds, it began to slow. It reached up and tried in vain to grasp Ari's hand, its final attempt at surviving.

"_ARI!_"

Ari jumped backwards to see one of the whitecoats approaching. The Eraser that had been on guard was cowering in the furthest corner as the man got closer. "Release him. Now!"

Ari's fist reluctantly released some of the pressure he was putting on the creature's windpipe. It began gasping for breath, still choking. It grabbed at Ari's hand and tried to pry his fingers away.

"Release him completely."

Ari did, and slunk back to join the other Eraser. Jeb made his way towards the gasping creature and gently began bandaging its wounds. Fury built up in Ari's chest. Jeb was staring at that …_thing_… like he had always done with Max. With compassion. He actually cared for it.

But not his son.

Ari barred his teeth and raced down the hall until he came to the cells that held Max and the other mutant. He stared through the bars on the door and roared, "I'LL KILL YOU, MAX! I'LL KILL YOU THIS TIME!" Memories from his twisted past began to build up in him, how Jeb had always thought of him as second class….how Max always held his attention…how the other Erasers seemed perfect compared to him.

He tore down the hall, finding a dark corner and sinking his teeth into his arm. The metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth, but he didn't care. He didn't care anymore. He only wished for it to end.

Sometime soon.

** XxXxXxXx**

The clank of the prison door awoke me. I shot out of sleep and stared towards where a whitecoat was standing.

"I thought you might be lonely here by yourselves." I recognized that voice.

Jeb walked into the cell, one of the creatures from earlier deeply asleep in his arms. Its right arm was bandaged heavily…I wondered what could have happened. Angel silently awoke herself and was staring at Jeb with mild interest, not yet fully awake.

He placed the creature on the far end of the cot and gave us an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry this had to happen. But until I can sort things out…you should get to know one another."

He left after that.

"Ari hurt him." Angel yawned motioning towards the creature. "I can tell. He's dreaming about it."

I would dream about mutant wolf people too if I had been attacked by one. I slowly pried the bar separating this cell from the other and climbed through to check the door, thanks to the spoon that doubled as a hammer thing, we had more room. It was locked. _Seriously_?

"Angel, want to stay in this one tonight? I'll keep an eye on our new friend." I helped her over and then climbed back after I made sure she was comfortable.

I slept on the floor, letting the new cellmate have the bed. Although it was hard and cold, my wings kept the worse of it out of my bones. I actually fell asleep.

And was awoken by a loud shout.

** So yeah, I haven't had much free time, but this is what I've been working on. Review please, I don't care if it's anonymous or not, I like reviews…**

** I might continue this…but if not…this is the first FF I won't actually complete! So that disappointment might just motivate me to keep going. So anyway, review. AND FAVORITE!**

** But don't flame.**

** Hasta la Vista, Readers!**

** Lordoftheghostking28**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hola, mi mejor amigos! (I probably spelled that wrong..) Anyway, one last chap before exams and crap! Don't worry...I'm still working on this...hold your horses...I just need to pass school first...**

**CHAPTER 2**

"It won't open." Gazzy growled.

"Then how do you explain how Max and Angel just vanished!" Nudge nearly shouted.

"Maybe it was a trick." Iggy suggested.

Fang listened silently to their convo, but didn't jump in with protests or theories of his own. He just ran his hand over the dark brick that made up a doorway…nothing more. A stone doorway that you could enter into, but never come out of.

They had tried kicking every stone with all their might, but to no prevail. It was exacally that…. A stone archway.

"I'm hungry!" Gazzy announced for the fifth time.

Fang sighed. "If we're having no luck here, spread and search again. Don't go out of earshot."

"We did that already." Nudge pounded on a stone.

"Yeah, before the sun rose. Now that it's actual daylight we can get something done." Fang's dark eyes began scanning the ground.

It didn't take long until he found it.

It was glinting in a pile of leaves, gold among dead brown. He picked it up, turning it over and over in his hand, unsure of what he had just found.

"A ring?" He wondered.

To be precise, a ring covered in dried blood.

**XxXxXxXx**

I darted up from the floor, wings spread ready for takeoff until I realized there was nowhere to fly. The creature was staring at me as though I were one of the whitecoats. He was stumbling backwards towards the door, as though if he had me out of eyesight I would decide to take his life. I folded my wings loosely behind my back and sat cross-legged. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I stood slowly when he didn't respond. "My name's Maximum Ride. What's yours?"

I could literally feel Angel's eyes drilling holes in my face from the other cell. She was probably picking up vibes from the creature and trying to figure out what they meant.

_Max, he thinks you're one of the Erasers. Someone who was mutated to kill him_.

Ok, now I know where to start.

"Don't worry, I'm not one of them." I said. "I'm a prisoner of them too. But if we work together we may be able to escape from here."

"What about Silver and Shadow?"

That's right. His friends. This was going to be a bit harder than I thought. "We'll do what we can. And for starters, you can tell me your name."

"I'm Sonic." He muttered.

"All right, Sonic," I said. "I don't have a plan. We need to work together if we're to accomplish something here."

_Come on, Max, aren't you always prepared_? The Voice asked silently.

_Shut up_. I responded. _I'm working on it_.

**XxXxXxXx**

Jeb was standing in front of the main lab's doors. He knew that in bringing Max and the alien together, they would devise a plan to escape. But they would have to be quick about it. Because in a little over 24 hours…they may be dead.

He entered the place, heading to the back where a large gray door hung. Behind the door to the left was the isolation tank. Standing in front of it was another whitecoat.

"From its reactions…I'd say its had a pretty rough life so far," the whitecoat muttered as Jeb walked up behind him. "can't seem to calm down at all."

Jeb nodded slowly, remembering Max's reactions in the same tank. What the other whitecoats told him about the tank was obviously inaccurate; two test subjects had verified that. It seemed to be making them relive the past in a twisted way.

He glanced at the readouts on the side of the chamber. The dark offworlder had been in there for almost the entire time it had been in the lab. When it had recovered slightly from the attack in the woods…it was ready to fight. The only option anyone agreed to was putting it in the tank. There, it wouldn't hurt itself or anyone else.

Right now, it was only half-conscious and screaming.

"How long has it been doing that?" Jeb asked.

"I don't know…for about the past hour? Seems about right." The whitecoat said.

Jeb turned away from both his colleague and the tank. "Get me if anything changes."

He walked towards the opposite side of the room, where the final offworlder was staring towards him with wide eyes through the thick steel bars. Its back was pressed against the wall, as far away from Jeb as possible. Although its eyes were wide and alert, it was fighting extremely hard against the knockout drugs that were flowing into its left arm from a small IV bag nearby. Its ankle, where an Eraser had dug its claws into it, was bandaged tightly.

"It hasn't said anything at all, not even its name. We should probably get stronger drugs though…he's fighting them as though they're death." The whitecoat said.

Just in the short time he had actually been around the creature, he could being to see the fatigue in its eyes. Its battle against the sedatives was slowly coming to an end. "I don't think that's necessary." Jeb said.

"When do we take their power?"

It was unmistakable; the fear and confusion that was suddenly plastered to the creature's face. Jeb cast it a concerned glance, but there was nothing he could do. "Soon." Was all he managed to say.

**XxXxXxXx**


	4. Chapter 3

** CHAPTER 3**

** All right! Another chapter! This took forever, because I'm working on two FanFics at the same time. And my 'idea train' wasn't very straight. And I was playing Sonic Heroes and failing miserably. **

** Oh, well. Here we go. Chapter three…**

"Come on," I stood in a fighting stance. "bring on your worst."

Before I knew it, I was lying flat on my back, my left wing pinned under Sonic's foot. He laughed slightly at the look of shock on my face. "Want to see my worst now?"

"I'm scared to." I got up, cracking my back as I did so. "How did you do that?"

"I'm just fast. You can fly…I can run." He was suddenly to the right of me. "I think we're a good team."

"If the rest of the flock was here, Max, we could be unstoppable!" Angel cheered.

"So…how did you get the wings in the first place?" Sonic asked awkwardly.

"We've had them ever since we've been born." I said, sighing. No better place to start than the beginning. "The whitecoats grafted avian DNA into our own. We were born and taken away…they lied to our parents and said we died…it was truly awful."

"Same to be said for Wolfman out there? The ones that attacked us?" Sonic asked.

"For the most part, yes. Their leader is named Ari. He's only seven years old…only _seven_. And they did this to him behind his father's back." I plucked a few feathers from my wings. "We need to escape as soon as possible."

"I have an idea." Angel said.

"Let's sure hope it's good." I said.

But before she could start on her brilliant plan, the door of the cell was opened and Ari entered, a tray of food balanced on one hand. He wasn't morphed into an Eraser, which struck me as odd. But what really got me was the apologetic look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I really am." He placed the tray down and left.

"Sorry for what, exacally…?" I managed to shout before he got too far down the hall. The sudden kindness he had shown…_what the heck?_

"Max…Sonic's friends…they're in trouble." Angel whispered when Ari didn't respond. "I could see it in his mind. They're taking their power."

This worried me. As did the looks on Angel and Sonic's faces.

_ Voice? Any tips here?_! I 'yelled' inside my head.

But the know-it-all, freakishly freaky, abnormal Voice was silent…

** XxXxXxXx**

Ari knelt to peer into the padded cage that held one of the offworlders. The creature inside didn't look harmful at all…just scared and hungry. Two golden orb-like eyes locked with Ari's dark, menacing ones and a tiny voice sounded in his head. Much like Max's little winged friend's ability…

_ Who are you_?

Ari blinked a few times. "I'm Ari. This is the School."

The creature tried to push itself into a sitting position, instead its shaking arms gave out and it collapsed back on the thin mattress. _What are they going to do to us? I'm scared_.

"They're going to take your power. Drain you to within an inch of your life, let you recover and then repeat the process. They're using your energy to track some mutants that escaped. What's your name?"

_ I'm Silver_.

"Well, Silver, if this makes you feel any better…your blue buddy is, for the moment, safe. Apparently the whitecoats can't use him at the moment. But there's no guarantee they'll ignore him in the future."

_ His name's Sonic. Where's Shadow? Is he here too_? Silver glanced over Ari's shoulder. _I can tell he's nearby…but…Is he in that tank thing_?

"It's called an isolation tank. And yes, that's where he is. The whitecoats didn't know how to control him so they thought that would take care of their probablems." Ari growled.

_ So what happened to you? I mean…you're not exacally like the others…you're not evil like the other wolves and you're not cold-hearted like the whitecoats. Can you help us_? Silver grabbed one of the bars on the cage and pulled himself towards the Eraser until he was only a few inches away. _Please_?

"I don't think I can…" Ari trailed off as Jeb walked into the room, closely followed by a team of whitecoats, most of which were carrying strange equipment. Ari could only imagine what Silver was thinking.

"Ari, what are you doing here? Did you get him to talk?" Jeb asked, his voice emotionless.

"Not a word." Ari lied. He cast a final glance at Silver, who reached between two of the bars towards him as if pleading for help. Ari squeezed his eyes shut and backed away from the cage.

_ Ari_! He could still hear Silver. _ARI! PLEASE_!

_ I can't…not now_…Ari thought back. _Silver, hang on. I'll do what I can_.

Jeb unlatched the cage and removed it from the bed's frame, placing it to the side. Silver tried to leap away, but Jeb and a couple other whitecoats pinned him on his stomach.

_ ARI! I CAN SEE WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO TO US! PLEASE! HELP ME_!

Ari realized with a sudden blow that this situation had happened multiple times over the years. Only he was like Silver, trapped and pleading for help while Max; who was him, stood and watched. And never helped. Just watched as he was neglected and mistreated…by his own father! By everyone! Finally to the point where they mutated him into something more 'useful'…and he _still_ was ignored!

Ari felt his lips curl around his fangs. _This is payback, Max_. He thought. _Always had a chance to help me, but you never did. Now I will return that deed. This creature can die and you will only blame yourself_.

_ Ari? Please!...No! No_! Silver's thoughts interrupted his own. Ari was wrenched out of his twisted plans to watch Jeb hold Silver's left arm down as another whitecoat slipped a restraint over it, pulling it tight and keeping him from moving it. As Silver was grasping towards the release, they grabbed his other arm and did the same. _NO! NO! PLEASE NO_!

He kicked out at Jeb as he tried to grab his leg, catching him in the face and knocking the glasses away from his face. One of the whitecoats grabbed Silver's leg and twisted it so hard that a muffled crack resounded through the room, meeting Ari's ears like cymbals. But his hatred for Max was stronger than Silver's cries.

"Why did you do that?" Jeb shouted at the whitecoat. "That was completely unnecessary!" He put his glasses back on his face, wiping away the small flecks of blood on his lips as he did so.

Silver didn't struggle against him as Jeb tied his last free limb down. When he penetrated Ari's thoughts, he brought some of the pain with him._ Ari…please_…

Ari grinned again, feeling triumph fill him. _Think twice next time, Max_. he snickered at the thought, turning and leaving the lab.

"_ARI_!"

Ari stopped a few feet into the hall. Silver genuinely needed his help…and he was denying it? Max always helped anyone no matter what.

…except him.

Ari gripped at his head as painful memories and wails pierced his mind. He felt his nails dig into his scalp, drawing blood. He could be like Max. He could save the offworlders. He and only he could do it.

Ari turned just in time to have the thick, soundproof door slammed into his face.

Now no hope for their survival remained. Ari sunk to the ground and howled.

** XxXxXxXx**

Jeb helped the other whitecoats ready the equipment while the creature continued to never take its eyes off him. It had shouted Ari's name…had they been conversing without him knowing it? He would have to speak to his son later about that.

_ Jeb…you're Jeb? Don't hurt me_.

The lead scientist stared in shock at the creature, who's eyes were even wider than before. _Don't hurt me, please_!

Jeb shut its voice out of his head and continued to ready the experiment. He slipped two ring-like devices over the creature's wrists, wires spilling from each of them back towards a large machine. Before long, it was ready.

"Begin." Jeb said.

The machine started with a soft hum. The creature cast a frantic look back at him and began struggling with all its might against the restraints. But it began to weaken almost immediately.

"20 percent of its power collected so far, sir." A whitecoat reported.

The creature's eyes dulled. The vigor that had been in it earlier was gone. It began to lie still as the machine sucked the energy and power out of it.

"40 percent,"

It was fighting to keep its eyes open and focused. Jeb almost felt sorry for it.

"60 percent,"

It wasn't moving at all now, save the small gasps it took. Jeb motioned to stop.

"75 percent power and energy taken." The whitecoat reported. "We were cutting it rather close."

Jeb unlatched the rings from its wrists and undid its restraints. It wouldn't be moving anytime soon.

"Let's get the other out of the way for now." He said, crossing over to the isolation tank. He deactivated it and the top slid away.

The dark creature inside defensively took dangerous swipes at his face, fighting its way out of reach and falling to the floor hard. It struggled to its feet, staring at the scientists though blurry eyes. When one made a move towards it, all hell broke loose.

It downed three whitecoats even in its weakened state before turning its attention to the door, blasting it out of the way with hardly a glance. It began to run down the hall, more than once colliding with the walls.

Ari heard the noise but refused to believe it.

** XxXxXxXx **

I pressed my finger to my lips again. "There. Another crash."

"Max, it's nothing." Angel protested for the fifth time. "You're imagining it. There's nothing out there…"

She trailed off as a louder crash sounded along with a shout. "I guess you're right." She whispered.

It took me a total of two seconds to realize what was going on. I raced over to the small window set into the door of the cell and shouted, "OVER HERE! HEY! LET US OUT! WE'RE ON YOUR SIDE!"

Both Angel and Sonic contributed to my calls, our shouts growing louder than the smashes. I saw someone pass the door…and then the metallic sound of a lock being unlatched.

The door opened and I more or less burst out of it, knocking our savior to the ground. As soon as Angel and Sonic were out, I re-latched the door, hoping to buy a few minuets before they realized we were gone.

"Who are you?"

The dark creature from earlier was slowly rubbing the place on his head where the metal door had smacked him. Confusion, pain and worry were clearly on his face, but it all lifted slightly when he caught sight of Sonic. "At least I know you're alive." He muttered.

"Ok, Max…Angel…this is Shadow. We'll work on getting to know one another later. What's the plan?" Sonic demanded as the shouts from down the hall began to get louder.

"That way." I pointed down the opposite way. "It'll get us out of here."

"What about Silver?" Shadow stumbled to his feet.

"I'll come back later. But right now we all need to _get out_!"

Whitecoats and Erasers were beginning to gather together, coming towards us in a huge mob. We put on speed and made our way down the hall only to run into a blank white wall.

"Crap!" I growled, slamming both fists onto it in frustration.

"Max, turn around. Slowly." A voice commanded. I directly disobeyed it and instead pounded on the wall harder, as if that would get me anywhere.

Another voice said calmly and evilly, "Do as he says."

Ari. The apologetic note that was in his voice earlier was gone completely. I turned around sharply, almost knocking Sonic to the ground with my wings. A group of whitecoats and Erasers were gathered at the end of the hall, unmoving. It was as though they dared us to try to escape.

Challenge accepted.

I darted at them, shouting a battle cry the entire way. Ari stepped out from the crowd and swung his huge fist at me.

Before it could connect with my face a streak of blue crossed my vision and Ari was suddenly flying across the room, hitting the opposite wall hard. Sonic stood in front of me, panting slightly. "He's bigger than I thought." He muttered.

"Get them!" Another Eraser commanded, and suddenly the whole crowd was onto us.

I struck out, smacking one across the face. Beside me, I could see Sonic, Shadow and Angel fighting for their lives. We were beginning to be pushed back…back towards the blank white wall.

When my back brushed up against it I knew we were in trouble.

"Yep, this isn't going to end up well." I sighed as the Eraser I was fighting drew back for the death blow.

I ducked under his arm and his hand went _right through the wall_. When he pulled his bleeding fist from it, I could see wires…mechanics…pulleys…and some hinges.

It clicked. Duuu_uuh_. Why didn't I think of this sooner?

I glanced towards the corner of the room while at the same time dodging the Eraser's attacks. There, set into the wall, was a fire alarm. And there were some deliberate cracks in the door around it.

"Get to the fire alarm and pull it!" I shouted. "NOW!"

I smacked the Eraser upside the head and darted for it, Angel and Sonic close by. Shadow was still a few meters down the hall, trying to keep the biggest Eraser I had ever seen at bay.

With one final punch, he managed to sent it sprawling. Shadow ran for us, or more like stumbled. Either way, he reached us.

"Pull it, Angel." I said, turning to face the entire crowd of whitecoats running at us, looks of desperation on their faces. We had found our escape.

Angel pulled the fake alarm and the entire wall moved. It was dark on the other side…almost too dark. When the sunlight pierced the small platform we were on I was nearly blinded.

"MAX!"

Something hit me and hugged me. I awkwardly rubbed Gazzy's back, blinking hard to get the giant green dots out of them.

"Are you all right?" Fang demanded.

"Get out of here! They're going to be right behind us! We need to fly!" I let go of Gazzy and jumped off the platform as it began to sink.

"Who?" Iggy asked.

"WHO DO YOU THINK?"

"But I can't fly," Sonic said awkwardly.

"Hey, Fang! Merry Christmas! You get to carry one of our new flock mates!" Before anyone could do anything, I grabbed Shadow's arms and lifted up into the air. He wasn't actually that heavy, so I guess that was easier on me.

"What?" I heard Fang growl, but the next thing I knew, the entire flock was up in the air. We instantly began to gain altitude.

"Oh, man…this isn't good…" I heard Sonic groan. "Do we have to go so high?"

"If you want to live!" Nudge said. "So what's your name? I'm Nudge. Actually, my real name is Monique, but I like Nudge too. Except when we're trying to blend in with normal people I'm Krystal."

I glanced over at Sonic's face and almost dropped Shadow on account of holding back laughter. He cast me a creeped-out glance and said lamely, "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog."

"That's a good name too! So…can you run or something? Is that why you're Sonic? Like supersonic?"

This was going to be a long flight.

** XxXxXxXx**

We had to land sooner or later to avoid Shadow's and Sonic's arms from numbing to the point of falling off. And besides, Fang and I were dying for a break.

We began our journey again in a slightly different manor. I found out that if Shadow held tightly onto my shoulders and hunkered down between my wings, it was a very effective flying option. Same for Fang. We were now flying silently over some large city.

"Max?" Angel flew up next to me. "When are we going to save their friend?"

"I don't know." I said. Our two new companions had fallen asleep long ago. I don't blame them. I myself felt like I was sleep-flying.

"Soon, right? I mean…we're not just going to leave him there, are we? The whitecoats will hurt him."

"We'll go back, Angel. Soon." I promised. Although even I didn't know when 'soon' would be.

"I just realized something." Fang was suddenly where Angel had been seconds before. "We found a golden ring nearby where you had been taken. Shadow has three similar rings around his wrists and ankle. I think he lost this one."

"Hold onto it until we land somewhere." I said. "Aw, screw this. Let's land now. I see a place that looks pretty deserted."

We slowly circled the area a few times and then touched down in the middle of a small forest. Angel and Gazzy curled under a few bushes together while us bigger people went to find different shelter. A couple low hanging tree branches were perfect.

** XxXxXxXx**

** More on the way. Writer's block has sort of kept me from updating more…I'm working on it, though. Review, please! **

** If these later chapters are lame…I'm sorry. Ideas are running out…**

** Until next time,**

** Hasta la Vista, Readers! **

** Lordoftheghostking28**


	5. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

"Sir, it's working."

Jeb glanced at the monitor that was supposedly tracking the flock. Just the small amount of power taken from the offworlder made all the difference. They would just have to be careful they didn't use all of it at once.

"They're bordering California and Nevada. Send a team out there." A different whitecoat answered for Jeb. The first one nodded and began typing something into the computer.

"Don't hurt them. None of them. That includes the aliens." Jeb spoke up. "We can use them too."

"Yes, sir."

Jeb turned and headed out of the room. He knew that by morning the flock would be visited again by the Erasers. Too soon? Probably not. Max was always ready; training the younger ones to always be on guard.

He didn't want them to be harmed. They were important…if not to the lab, then to him. They were like his family.

**XxXxXxXx**

"No, I don't want fries with that."

I opened my eyes and cast a concerned glance at Iggy, who was dangerously close to falling out of the tree. He had a dreamy expression on his face and he was muttering broken sentences of ordering food.

Food! That's right. Food. It would be great to have some. I dragged myself out of the tree and began to search the still forest.

…It was very still. Almost too quiet.

Beside from the awkward nothingness, I found an apple tree and many other edible berries not far from our makeshift camp. As I was heading back, I saw a dark form slip out from one of the taller trees.

It was Shadow. And he was holding a dead, scrawny but very edible squirrel.

"How did you catch that?" I asked.

"Concentration and determination." He said simply.

I wasn't about to argue with that. We re-entered the camp and I fished a small knife from Fang's backpack to skin the squirrel while Shadow gathered wood for a small fire.

"Hey, do we have breakfast? We DO?" Nudges' eyes flew open and she ran towards me and my squirrel.

"Oh boy! This is going to be good! Oh, hey! An apple!" She grabbed one from the small pile and took huge bites from it. "Ooooh, it's so good!"

"Glad you like it." I said. "I picked it myself."

So, in a few words, breakfast was awesome. Even to the flock's standards. But then that left us awkwardly deciding what to do next. Again.

"Do we have any real clothes for her?" I asked, motioning to Angel's hospital gown. "And me?"

"I'll check." Fang said.

While he was doing that I finished up the apple I was eating and leaned against a tree trunk, trying to imagine how life would be if I wasn't constantly on the run. Probably boring.

"We've got some jeans and T-shirts. Is that ok?"

"Fine with me." I grabbed the clothes he tossed at me and headed behind the tree.

A few seconds later I was dressed like a fairly normal girl… with wings, of course. But other than that I felt a lot better. Angel did too by the look on her face.

"Are we heading back to the School?" Gazzy asked. "I mean…we've got to save that other guy."

"His name's Silver." Sonic said.

"Yeah, Silver. Max? Are we?"

"Obviously. We need to keep moving anyway. And somehow I doubt they'll look for us around the place we wanted to escape from."

"But still…They knew we were all together in the first place…so…" Sonic trailed off after getting a look at my expression that clearly stated, 'Just shut up, it's harder to plan these things than it looks.'

So, within the hour, we were in the air, my non-flying companion clutching tightly to my shoulders as we flew high above the world.

"I will never get used to flying." Shadow hissed.

"It's easier when you're the one who has wings." I snickered.

**XxXxXxXx**

Ari had entered the lab to find it surprisingly empty. Going back into the depths of it, he finally found the room that Silver was being kept in.

"I'm sorry." Ari whispered. "I really am. I don't know what's wrong with me. Silver, can you hear me?"

No telepathic response answered him. Silver barely had the energy to stay alive…not even one fiftieth of the energy to even answer Ari with a simple answer. The glowing blue rings on his hands were dulled, as though a measure of his life force. They looked as though they would extinguish at any moment, although the monitors stacked beside the bed said he was stable. Ari felt as though someone was jabbing a knife through his body. The mere thought of letting Max invade his mind at a critical time…unthinkable. Why had this happened? Silver would have escaped along with the flock! Instead, he was lying immobilized in a cold lab, all power stolen from him and his right leg broken.

Ari couldn't speak to Silver, but he was picking up faint thoughts and visions. Dreams, maybe? Dreams of…darkness. There was death…fire…horror…

"What are you doing here?"

Ari spun around at Jeb's voice. Behind his father were three whitecoats he had never seen before; two men and a tall woman. They wore dark gray coats with pocket protectors in the upper right pocket and dark blue pants. Their hair was slicked backwards, not a single strand in their faces. They were obviously the orderly type.

"This is your son?" The woman asked in a heavy accent.

"Yes," Jeb said bluntly.

The other two whitecoats caught sight of Silver, standing around the hospital bed and taking in readings from the monitors. "This is an actual extra terrestrial?" One of them asked.

"I kid you not," Jeb said. "He's one of three. Unfortunately, the other two are not around."

"Where would they be?"

"Anywhere, at the moment. They've escaped. Along with a couple of our specimens."

"We're willing to offer a handsome price for them." The second whitecoat added.

"You've already given us more than we ever needed for him." Jeb cast his eyes on the floor.

"What?" Ari interjected. "You've…_bought_ him?"

"We're taking it back to our labs. We'll give you a full report once we're done with the examination, Professor." The woman said.

"You can't!" Ari roared.

"Why not?" Jeb asked quietly.

"Because they're coming for him!"

"Then we'll get many birds and aliens with one stone,"

**XxXxXxXx**

By the time we reached the land around where I was pretty sure the School was, it was dark. We landed in a tall tree and decided to hang out there for the night…kind of literally. When the early morning sun began to filter through the trees, I noticed that Nudge was about ready to fall out, thanks to Sonic. I managed to grab her before she could fall.

"Wha…? What's going on?"

"One of our new flock mates is hogging the branch." I said. "Hey, Sonic! Wake up!"

He sat straight up, getting an assortment of twigs and other tree parts in his eyes and falling backwards. I lunged for his foot but ended up knocking Angel out of the way and nearly falling out myself. Meanwhile, Sonic hit another branch and sort of passed out in the dirt.

"That didn't go according to plan." I muttered.

"Tell me about it." Angel snickered.

Once we were all awake and aware enough to keep ourselves from falling out of trees, we began to plan.

"Once we get in, we head to the labs. They're down the hall, to the right, and through a series of doors. I think Silver might be in one of the last rooms..they're more secure." Shadow said, scratching a rough design into the tree bark with Fang's knife.

"Sounds fine and dandy. But only one thing…" Gazzy said. "…How do we get in there in the first place? I mean…we didn't seem to be able to get in…but you got out."

"Perhaps it's only controlled by the inside." I suggested. "and if that's the case…we're hitting a major roadblock."

"Really." Iggy said sarcastically.

"That's not our only probablem." Sonic piped up. "There's all those Erasers and whitecoats…if the entryway doesn't keep us out, they might."

"We should be fine. There didn't seem to be too many Erasers…and the whitecoats are usually too shy to do anything." Angel said. "And besides, if they want to attack us, I can stop them. Max too."

"What about me?" Gazzy frowned.

"And you."

"All right. Plan A…get in. Plan B is getting to Silver. Plan C is escaping with him, all of us unscathed and unharmed. Plan D is if everything bad happens; where we hightail it out of there and bolt, no matter what the situation." I planned. "Everyone clear on that?"

"Can I use my bomb?" Iggy asked.

"Bomb?" Sonic looked mildly interested.

"Yeah, bomb. I had it for a while…been looking for a time to use it. Could I use it in there?"

"I don't know…that's backup for any of the plans that appear to be failing." I decided. "Or if we need a distraction."

"Let's hope for a distraction, then." He smiled evilly.

"Besides, if Plan A, B, C and D don't work…there's more letters in the alphabet to use." Angel laughed.

"I don't think that'll be necessary. I've got a plan all worked out right now." I smiled. "Iggy, good news…you get to use your bomb."

**XxXxXxXx**

The three scientists had to make five trips out of the lab, down the hall, through a couple of security doors, and into the docking station to load up the equipment the School was giving them. Ari simply watched, not believing a single machine would even be needed…or should be needed. Silver probably wouldn't have the strength to attack them…if they even allowed him that much power in the first place.

Ari fixed one of the new scientists with a cold stare until he backed away and turned out the door.

The random flashes of places and people that Silver was dreaming about were vivid; most in bright vibrant colors and a couple in black and white. Bits and pieces of sentences were audible. Twice Ari saw himself... but he wasn't an Eraser. Somehow, Silver knew what he had looked like even before he had been mutated into what he was now. The once-familiar image brought anger and sadness flaring up in Ari's chest.

"Ari, step away, please." Jeb forced him out of his thoughts. "They'll be taking the specimen and leaving."

"He has a name…and you know it." Ari snarled.

"Step away."

"He's my friend." The simple sentence seemed so lame compared to what was at stake.

"Then you have a bad choice in who you call 'friends'. You were taught not to ever trust anyone; let anyone trick you into believing them. What happened to that?" Jeb's voice was emotionless.

Blind fury rose in Ari again. "Don't you tell me who to believe! You yourself betrayed me! Preferring Max…? I'm your own _son_! I could never trust you!"

He swung out with one large fist, slamming Jeb into the wall. The three scientists paled and backed away, afraid.

_Afraid_…

Ari liked to be in control. He could kill them…but he chose not to. Mercy was almost too much to show to this group. He morphed, full-out Eraser, daring them to come closer.

That was a few seconds before another Eraser jumped on his back, biting and clawing. Ari flipped over, flailing and trying to get the smaller mutant off him. Monitors and other medical equipment were sent flying, crashing around them. Ari felt strong arms clamp down over his wrists…no hope of escaping.

"NO!" Ari shouted as the scientists more or less threw Silver into a dog-like carrier. He saw his broken leg hit one of the bars.

That was about when the gigantic explosion was heard. It was strong enough to shake the entire room…to make the lights flicker and plaster rain down lightly from the roof. Everyone froze, waiting to see if something else was going to happen.

"Ari, get up to the surface. Round up the Erasers. Now!" Jeb shouted, hurrying the scientists out through another door.

Ari had no choice but to gather his brethren and head to the surface. As he did so, a small plan formed in his mind…

**XxXxXxXx**

The bomb went off beautifully, nearly destroying the stone archway. A masterpiece. Truly a work of art. But we didn't have much time to congratulate ourselves before the secret platform was raised and about ten Erasers leaped out. With a loud battle cry, we shot down at them.

Two were out cold before they knew what hit them. A couple more managed a shocked, "Oh, Jeez," before being taken out. The rest were ready.

I jammed my foot into one's ribcage, sending him to the ground doubling up. While he focused on recovering, I brought my other foot down on his forehead, sending his head to the side with a nasty crack.

Out of the corner of my eye I watched Shadow and Sonic bring another down, like they had been fighting their entire lives also. Perhaps they have been. The rest of the flock were either teaming up or finishing their mutant off.

I turned as I felt hot breath on the back of my neck. Ari was standing in front of me, as menacing as always. I slammed my fist into his stomach on reflex, but he did nothing to ward off my attack. Same for the move that brought him down heavily on his back. Only when I was about to clobber his face did he speak up.

"Wait, Max…I have to tell you something."

"Make it quick." I hissed.

"The scientists…they're moving Silver somewhere. I need your help to find him."

Odd request for mercy. But something in his eyes made me back away slightly. I could sense the rest of the flock gathering around me, questioning gazes settling on me.

"They're moving him? Where?" Sonic demanded.

"I don't know…somewhere. Another School…I don't know." Ari got up painfully, rubbing his stomach. "I can guarantee that there's info inside."

"That we'll have to fight for." Shadow hissed. "I'm not going back in there."

"Same," The rest of the flock echoed.

On one hand, Ari could be tricking us into a trap. But he seemed so scared himself…and I could tell from the expression on Angel's face he wasn't lying. Maybe it was half right…I don't know. Either way we may be heading back into the School, either for capture or for information.

Possibly both.

On the other hand, this could be complete honesty. There's no telling what the other scientists will do to Silver; my mind began forming terrifying images of an Eraserfied form of him. I shuddered and tried to brush that thought away.

"We've got to do something." I said slowly. "And right now the only thing we can do is get in and get information on where they may be moving him."

"All I know is that they've come a long ways." Ari said. "Through the other underground entrance…the one for aircraft."

"You got a plan?" I asked.

"No."

"Me neither. This should be fun."

**XxXxXxXx**

Silver began to slowly become aware of his surroundings again. But there really wasn't much to see or feel. It was dark, very dark. And he thought he was lying in a puddle or something. It took him a few seconds to realize he was somehow suspended in water…but still able to breathe.

Silver decided that, wherever he was, he didn't like it.

Much too dark for that.

But on the other hand, it was quiet. And for the most part, it felt safe. He couldn't sense anyone else around. In fact, he couldn't sense or even feel anything. Eventually that thought was shoved away and he drifted back to sleep.

The last twenty-four hours replayed in his mind, over and over and exacally the way it had happened. But it was so distant…simply a dream.

Silver had a couple conversations with himself on if or not he was still alive. He felt slightly sick; like he was getting over the worst of a fever. He lay in the pitch-blackness for what seemed like forever, drifting in and out of sleep and talking just to break the deafening silence.

Then the light came. It was as though the sun had pierced the sky and had come to the surface, burning everything. His senses returned in a excruciating bolt of pain that ran throughout his body and stayed in his left leg. He punched out randomly, connecting with something surprisingly hard. He knew he hurt himself more than he did his opponent. The sounds of voices were like fireworks.

A couple of pairs of strong hands grabbed him, lifting him up and out of the darkness completely and into the scalding light. The feeling of touch was like a whip covered in broken glass. He tried to move away, but the pain in his leg continued to grow until the white, radiating light began to turn red.

He tried to scream, but the choked whimper that escaped his throat was seemingly eardrum shattering. Combined with the fireworks of other sound, the pain, the fear and the senses in general, it was too much to take.

When his back connected to the board of burning stakes he gave in and darkness overtook his vision, a replica of the nothingness he experienced earlier.

Silver decided that he was dead and this was Hell.

**XxXxXxXx**

**Ok. That's chapter four. Hope you like. Reviews are appreciated...what do you think the Flock is going to do? Trusting Ari...? Are they crazy?**

**I hope not. Anyway, REVIEW!**

**Hasta la Vista, Readers!**

**GhostKing**


	6. Chapter 5

** CHAPTER 5**

We carefully stole into the lab, shutting the doors behind us. Ari handed us a few files. "Look through them. I'll check the computer."

We began our search. I knew the information was nearby, or we knocked out fifteen whitecoats for nothing. I cast the unconscious pile a glance before returning back to the search

Angel held up a small file stamped with a rubber stamp that blared TOP SECRET like you couldn't tell from the sealed envelope and the School's logo on the front. "It's in Arizona!"

"Really?" Fang retrieved the files from her and began leafing through them. A look of complete shock and sick humor appeared on his face and he cast me a glance.

Oh, boy. This was gonna be good. Better hold onto my socks…

"They're in a place commonly known as Area 51."

Big whoop. Should've seen that coming,

"Where is it?" I pressed. "The sky? Underground? Floating? Space? It'll just add to the whole mysterious, 'fake until recently Area 51' thing."

"They're underground." Fang said. "Give me a minuet…I think I found where they're located."

There was a furious banging coming from one of the doors. "Angela! You in here?" Came a voice.

"Yeah!" Gazzy said in a high-pitched voice. "One second…"

"We don't have all day, Fang!" I hissed.

"I found it." Ari said softly. "The latitude and longitude."

"Write it down or something! We've got to bolt!" Sonic pointed to the pile of unconscious scientists. "They're waking up and someone wants in here!"

Ari scribbled down something on a piece of paper and threw it at me. I tucked it into my pocket and gathered everyone close. "Ok, plan is to escape here and make our way to Arizona. Get ready…"

Ari tore open the door and we quite literally ran over the scientist waiting for us. Another at the end of the hall turned and ran, probably for backup. We darted down the halls, finally coming to the dead end that would lead us to freedom. Shadow activated it and the platform began to move.

It swung into the wall into complete darkness…and began to head up. Just when I could see the tops of the trees, it jolted to a stop and the sound of ripping metal was heard.

I barely moved my arm out of the way before the claws ripped through the platform's walls. An Eraser was trying to stop us.

"Everyone quick!" I shouted, shoving Angel towards the exit that would barely be big enough for her. "Squeeze through!"

Angel struggled through and pulled Gazzy after her. I turned, now that I had enough room, and slammed my fist on the Eraser's paw. It bought us some more time, but it wouldn't last forever.

"Max, come on!" Fang grabbed the back of my collar and started to pull me through the gap. At first, I thought I wasn't going to clear it. But I did, after a bit of thrashing around and a couple bruises that would be popping up in the next few days.

I reached down and pulled Sonic and Shadow up, leaving Ari. He just stared at me…there was no way his huge body would fit through this small space.

"Get to Arizona! Quickly!" He hissed.

I nodded, turned, grabbed Shadow, and lifted off. The others were close behind. As we were flitting away, I heard the final shards of metal being ripped away and the growls and snarls of Erasers as they fought each other.

_ I'm sorry, Ari_… I thought to myself.

_ Don't be. He granted you freedom and knowledge. Use it to rescue your friend. You are going to need it…my best advice would be to stay on course._ The Voice said.

Two things now worried me; One: Ari may quite possibly be seriously wounded and who knows what might happen to him. Two: The Voice had just offered me direct advice.

Something told me Silver was in deep trouble.

** XxXxXxXx**

Silver came to and realized that the burning stakes weren't stakes at all. He had simply been placed on a table…but the simple feeling of the tabletop had interfered with his senses. Wherever he had been before…in the tank…it had done something to him.

The pain in his leg was still incredibly intense, but it came in throbs. He knew it was broken…possibly in multiple places. He didn't move for fear of hurting himself more, instead searching for an aura of any sort.

No one was around. Perhaps his telepathy had been dulled…

He opened his eyes slightly, seeing nothing but the solid white wall. He was lying on his side, injured leg protruding at a crude angle near the edge of the table, despite the thick bandaging. Silver shuddered, partly because of the pain and partly because of how weak he felt. He was suddenly very grateful for the thin blanket that was spread over him. Without it he would have been shaking uncontrollably.

The rest of the room— as far as he could tell—was as cold and white as the one wall he was seeing. There wasn't another single piece of furniture or equipment anywhere. Completely bare. Silver buried his head under the blanket and tried to go back to sleep.

Before long he was startled awake again, this time by a man wearing light green surgical scrubs pushing a small cart that was filled with many operating knives and pieces of equipment. Fear shot through Silver's mind and he tried to push himself off the table and crawl to the door. The lightning-like pain in his leg kept him from moving an inch.

"It's all right," The man said. "You've woken up quite early, though. It's only been a week since they drained your energy for the first time. We weren't planning to set your bone in place for a while yet…but seeing that you're already up…" He sighed. "We'll get this done as quickly as we can."

He pulled on a pair of skintight blue surgical gloves, noticing Silver's terrified expression. "I don't know what they did to you in the Institute, but we're going to let you recover. We'll put you out for this operation…you won't feel a thing. I promise."

Another doctor walked into the room, this one a young woman. Just from her aura, Silver knew he liked her immeadentally. Her aura was caring, calm…so different from the other scientists he had seen earlier. Even the man next to him was slightly unsettling, partly because he couldn't find a trace of an aura.

The man injected something light blue into his arm. "We'll make this quick, all right?"

Silver nodded, his eyes already growing heavy. Before he knew it, he was deeply asleep again, lost in a random assortment of dreams.

** XxXxXxXx**

And so our epic flying adventure came to a close.

It had taken us three days to find the right route to Arizona. It took us another two to find an abandoned area where a secret military lab could be around the latitude and longitude coordinates we had found. It took us the rest of the week to find a good source of food and water so we could stay alive in this weird place. But still, we were starving and really quite lost.

"Why can't there be a sign that says, 'This way to Area 51'?" Nudge growled. Her stomach echoed back. "I mean…this is really getting on my nerves!"

"MAX! MAX! I FOUND A COOKIE!" Gazzy cheered, holding up a beautifully preserved cookie in a plastic wrap. Dumpster diving really paid off in the end.

Unfortunately, he shoved the entire thing in his mouth and 'passed out' from the overdose of chocolate.

"Chocolate does that to him." I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, I wanted that!" Iggy hissed.

While they were yelling at each other, I scanned the hot desert landscape once again, still not seeing anything that jumped out at me after the ninth time. This was beginning to look hopeless; the Voice hadn't spoken a single word to me since we escaped the School. Everything about this place screamed, 'it's a trap!'.

"We'll find him," Angel said, coming up on my left side. "I know he's close."

Before long, darkness began to fall. The air cooled and we started a pitiful fire, but it was enough to keep the cold out of our bones.

"Hey…hey, Max!"

Before I knew it, I was being roughly nudged by Nudge, who had a mixture of fear and excitement on her face. "Look over there!"

I squinted where she was pointing, seeing a small pinprick of light on the outskirts of the giant flat desert thing we were in. As I watched, it grew brighter and then faded away again…almost as if someone had opened a door…

"We're going over there." I decided. "Wake the others."

** XxXxXxXx**


	7. Chapter 6

** CHAPTER 6**

** Ok, I'm back! **

It looked completely normal. Nothing out of the ordinary in the nearby hills. Had I just imagined the light…?

"Spread and search." I said. "Don't lose sight of each other. If you find anything suspicious, tell me immeadentally."

We managed to cover a good sized piece of land where we were certain we had seen the light. But half an hour of searching was in vain. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing that jumped out at us. Nothing of any importance.

Nothing.

Unless you counted the bizarre lizard with feathers.

"What _is_ that thing?" Sonic asked.

"Awww, he's so cute!" Angel squeaked. "Can I keep him, Max?"

"Of course not. He could have salmonella." I nudged the lizard, which was about as long as my arm and as thick as a good-sized tree trunk, with my foot. It didn't really do anything about it.

"Can I poke it?" Gazzy asked, picking up a stick.

"No,"

"Where do you think it came from?" Nudge asked. "From the labs here? If it did…then there must be a entryway in there some place. But where?" She spun around in a full circle.

"Obviously around here, Nudge." Fang growled slightly.

"Spread and search…again. Shout if you find anything." I began scanning the ground nearby, the others following suit. Nothing turned up and before long we were exhausted.

"We're never going to get into that place." Sonic sighed.

"Who knows what they could have done to Silver by this time? They could have killed him for all we know!" Gazzy flopped down next to the lizard, which cast him a strange look. "And if he's dead and we go in there and get captured…it'll all be for nothing!"

"He's not dead, guys." Angel said. "I think Max would know if he was."

I just nodded slowly, unsure of what to say or do next. We were at a total standstill.

** XxXxXxXx**

The people in the lab weren't cruel like the others. Already in the past week, Silver's leg had almost completely healed. Although it still hurt when he put pressure on it, he could walk short distances. As far as he could tell, these people weren't like the others…their auras were calm and caring.

And yet…something about their very being was unsettling. They were constantly thinking of strange things, sometimes distracted by their thoughts. They were never a second late or a second early. Always directly where they needed to be at the exact time.

Clockwork.

_ Like a bunch of robots_…

Silver pushed that thought away and focused on eating the food in front of him. Mostly fruit, not exacally his favorite, but hey…food was food. He considered himself lucky for staying alive this long. Even though he was still terrified of everyone in the place, anyway.

But the one weirdest thing about where he was…was whenever he went to sleep and awoke the next morning, he was more exhausted than before. He reasoned that was when they were taking his energy, using it to locate the others.

The door opened and one of the scientists entered, casting him an unnerving smile. Silver just stared, not sure what to say or do. He was picking up strange thoughts from the man's mind; excitement, fear and hunger for power. He backed up slightly.

"Ah, don't worry." The man said that sentence as though he knew what Silver was sensing. "It's not real, anyway."

"Wh…what?" Silver asked.

"You'll see soon enough." The man handed him a small box about the size of a quarter. Silver stared at it, amazed by what seemed to be a dark purple cloud swirling inside it.

And then it hit him. A wave of emotions and feelings; thoughts and even actions.

_ A darkened room…a cage…a wail of pain…bright lights set in a circular pattern on the ceiling… a bloodstained knife…a man's face—Jeb's—was set in a stony expression…an Eraser transformed…the sound of claws ripping through flesh…_

He dropped the cube, but the images kept coming.

_ …A long table with seven people seated around it…it was set on fire, the people dying in the smoke and embers…paperwork going up in flames…surgical equipment stacked beside another cage, this one holding a motionless creature… fire…death…suffering…pain…fear… horror…sadness…death…longing…excitement…misery…torture…sleep…darkness…fire…fire… FIRE…_

Silver clutched at his head, curling into a ball. But the images didn't stop. They kept shooting through his mind like bullets, seeming to tear him apart.

_Codes…number codes…papers labeled 'TOP SECRET'…a locked file…the hallway to the room…a security camera was set in a corner…darkness…the stars and moon were almost too bright for the night sky…fire…another scream…death all around…the voice gave out…there wouldn't be any more peace…fire…a doctor in surgical scrubs holding a long scalpel…the still form on the operating table…fire…jail… misery…torture…sleep…darkness…fire…fire… FIRE…FIRE..FIRE…FIREFIREFIRE…_

** XxXxXxXx**

"Max! Grinko likes me!" Angel giggled.

I turned from where I was kicking a rock away. "What? Who?"

"Grinko!"

Oh, great. She _named_ the lizard. And the others seemed to be taking a liking to it too.

"That's a good name!" Nudge laughed, scratching 'Grinko' under his chin. He made some sort of low growing noise I guessed qualified as purring.

"Great. A purring lizard with feathers named Grinko. What next?" I threw my hands in the air and walked off in a random direction, hoping to heck that the Almighty Force up there in Heaven would guide me to where I needed to be.

"I've heard of stranger." Sonic caught up with me.

"Yeah? Like what?"

"A blue hedgehog that can run at the speed of sound." He snickered.

"I was thinking more of _ninja turtles_." I rolled my eyes. Why was everyone so darn immature sometimes? Oh wait, I forgot…we're kids.

"So this is definitely the area that we're sure Area 51 is in, right?"

"Uhhhhh…yeah." I sighed, turning to watch the group from a distance. Iggy, Nudge, Angel and Gazzy were all seeming to make Grinko the Lizard very happy while Fang and Shadow just stood and watched them, muttering things to each other and occasionally breaking out in a slight smile.

And as I watched, Grinko rolled over to have his belly scratched. But that wasn't the weird part.

The weird part was he was originally lying on top of what appeared to be a slab of metal. I ran over, Sonic beating me to the group.

"What is that?" Gazzy asked.

"Looks like a button." Nudge pressed her foot on the slab, causing it to sink back into the ground. "We must have de-activated whatever it was when Grinko moved."

"Anyone see anything different?" Fang asked.

"Nope." Iggy growled.

"Nudge, take your foot off the thing." I said, turning to face the vast desert behind us. I heard her take her foot off the pedal thing.

Something shimmered nearby. I ran towards it as it completely came into view. It was a door…probably the thing I saw last night. Our ticket in and to saving Silver.

"That is so cool!" Gazzy squealed. "That technology is awesome!"

"How about we get in, save Silver, trash the place and steal their technology?" Sonic suggested.

"Sounds good to me!"

I found the handle on the door, putting my hand over it. "Everyone, be prepared for anything. I have no idea what we're getting ourselves into." And I pulled it open.

** XxXxXxXx**

The scientist that had handed Silver the cube was laughing. Silver had finally managed to shut the stream of images out of his head, leaving a terrible, throbbing headache instead. He curled up tighter into a ball, gripping his head. He suddenly knew what the scientists were going to do to him, Sonic, Shadow and the Flock. And if he knew the others…they were coming to find him. They would be walking right into a trap.

"I'll let you think about it for a while." The scientist laughed, retrieved the cube and left, shutting the door with a loud bang, leaving Silver to imagine the terrible ways he could die.

They were terrible indeed. At best, he would die by starvation or dehydration. At worst…he'd rather not think about it.

But he knew the Flock and the others would be coming soon. He just knew it. He knew they were close…And when they came, they would be killed too. This lab was even worse than the first…they wanted to watch them die. The other lab would have at least kept them alive.

The door was thrown open and three scientists walked in, pulling Silver to his feet. His vision flashed red and then black, threatening to give out on him. He somehow managed to force his legs to move as two of the scientists dragged him out of the room. Silver saw flashes of the memories he had received from the cube, painting unreal scenes from the past on the walls.

A door there where there shouldn't be one…a long scream…the image of an escaping creature, its eyes wide in fear. It ran right into the third scientist and vanished, only a hallucination…the ground was shaking…the walls seemed to be closing in them…

Silver's limbs froze up and he collapsed, slumping to the ground. He was barely making out the words the scientists were saying…something about a weak mind and inability to survive more than a few hours. Then their hands wrapped around his arms and pulled him up, literally letting his feet drag along the ground as they pulled him down the hall.

A door was opened—a real one this time—and they entered. Silver was thrown in a small cage, his back hitting the bars with a painful _bang_. His vision was spinning…someone was taunting him, judging by the laughter that echoed like a gong.

_A security camera was set in a corner…darkness…the stars and moon were almost too bright for the night sky…fire…another scream…death all around…the voice gave out…there wouldn't be any more peace…fire…a doctor in surgical scrubs holding a long scalpel…_

In his mind, Silver saw and felt the blade sink into his body. He was overcome with fear, almost to the point of panic. He hit one of the bars with his fist, sending a dull pain through his hand. He managed to shake the image from his mind, but more took its place.

_Fire…jail… misery…torture…sleep…darkness…_

He punched out at the bars again.

_Fire…fire… FIRE…FIRE..FIRE…FIREFIREFIRE…_

Just like in his past.

** XxXxXxXx**

** Wow…dramatic, much? Dang…kinda scary. **

** So, yeah…what'd you think? I finally overcame writer's block, and this is the chapter! Yey! Don't worry, everything will be explained in the future, but now you all will have to remain confused! HAHA!**

** Remember to review!**

** Until next time…**

** Hasta la Vista, Readers! **

** Lordoftheghostking28**


	8. Chapter 7

** CHAPTER 7**

A long, dark hallway.

Just what we needed.

"This is really creepy…" Nudge muttered somewhere to my right. I could barely make out the thin rectangular outlines of doors shedding light, and they were the only things leading us on. Iggy walked right into me, nearly pushing me to the ground.

"Hey!" He said. "Oh…sorry, Max. But why are we going so slow?"

"It's dark, doofus." I growled. "And one wrong sound or movement could land us in a living hell."

We continued making our way forward ever so slightly, coming to a fork in the road.

"There's more people to the right," Angel said. "But more fear coming from the left."

"Left." Fang decided for me.

We continued on. I found my mind wondering despite the terrifying situation…to my surprise my thoughts lingered on Ari. I wondered how he was coping with everything back at the School…I hoped—surprisingly—that he hadn't been treated too harshly for letting us escape. But then again…

I pulled my thoughts away from that and worked on not tripping any booby traps or anything.

A sharp squeal made me jump, spin around and get into a fighting stance. "What?" I nearly shouted.

"I…something touched me!" Nudge whispered, terrified. "Something soft!"

"Are you sure it wasn't any of us?" Gazzy asked, starting to sound a little worried.

"Yeah…how many of us have fur?" Nudge hissed.

"Shadow's pretty fluffy," Angel giggled.

Sonic snickered loudly. I heard a muffled thump and mutterings of curses. I guessed Shadow had knocked him into the wall.

"It…it wasn't him." Nudge continued. "Whatever it was…it was a lot taller. Sort of Fang's height, I'm guessing. Touched me on the arm…" she trailed off.

No sooner had she stopped talking than I heard something…Like whispers.

Only they were coming from the wall. I pressed my hand to where I thought the sounds were coming from, whispering softly, "Hello?"

I could have sworn the wall moved. Something warm and slightly soft pressed over my palm. I used my hand to feel along the wall, but it was cold and solid…

"Go back," Came the whisper again. "It's all illusion."

** XxXxXxXx**

It didn't take long for Silver to realize that all he had seen from the cube was really happening. In fact…there weren't just memories wrapped up in that odd little box…it was _reality_.

It had made everything unreal disappear so he saw the true identity of the lab. Everything he had seen before had been an illusion; a very well-executed trick.

The lab he had been taken into that had once been pure white with a cold, steel operating table was now a dark green shade with poor lighting. Equipment was stacked in the corner, but the table was still the same. The only difference with it was it now had four leather straps dangling down its sides.

The cage was still very real. Silver had attempted to escape from it for the past hour with no luck. His power seemed weakened…either that or the cage somehow resisted natural power. Either way wasn't good.

There was another cage nearby his, close enough that he could reach out and into the other. Curled in the furthest corner of the other prison was what appeared to be a cat. A cat with dark red, gleaming eyes and fangs like a tiger. Its claws were at least three inches long and it would growl in a deep voice that wasn't natural every time Silver glanced at it. He could sense its fear and see some of its thoughts.

"How am I going to get out of here?" Silver muttered out loud. "The others are going to die because of me!"

"The others?"

Silver jumped, trying to find the source of the voice. "Who…who's there?"

"Well, let's see…there are two life forms in this room. I _wonder_ who could be talking."

Silver stared at the cat, which was now grinning evilly. "Did…did you..?"

"No. This is just a figment of your imagination." The cat swiped its tongue over its sharp teeth. "I'm joking."

"Um…sorry to ask, but what exacally _are_ you?" Silver asked, crawling a bit closer to the cat's cage.

"What am I? Pfft." The cat scoffed. "I'm a Felinam from the planet Felin. My name's Dow'nfiniaah. But according to these scientists here…I'm 'That Scruffy Mutt of a Cat'. I myself prefer the name Reo." He licked his paw, casting Silver a red-eyed gaze. "Um…sorry to ask, but what exacally are _you_?"

"I'm a hedgehog." Silver said.

"Well, what happened to you? Fall in the nuclear waste?" Reo purred.

"I'm from the planet Mobius."

"Ah. What do the scientists call you? 'Big-Eyed Albino Freak'?" Reo scratched behind one ear with his left foot.

"My real name is Silver." Silver said bluntly.

"Hey, sorry to strike a nerve." Reo shrugged. "But you won't have to worry about it much longer. You won't have to worry about _anything_ much longer. Some of us aliens that've been here a while know what this room is. The scientists call it some nerdy-words I can't begin to understand. I only know a bit of English."

"Well, you're very good at it." Silver remarked.

"Thank you." Reo smiled, which was very awkward on a catlike creature. "Anyway, we call it 'The Ending'. Because that's what it is. Our ending. We're going to die here."

Reo cast a glance at the operating table. "And judging by what cage you've been thrown in, you're the first to go."

** XxXxXxXx**

"Our friend is here." I whispered back at the voice in the wall. I reasoned I looked like a complete idiot talking to a big slab of plaster, but hey…it was talking back.

"No use," The wall said. "Good as dead."

I nearly fell backwards. "Do you even know who I'm talking about?"

"Yes." The voice paused. "White fur. Gold eyes."

"Who _are_ you?"

But the voice in the wall had fallen silent. The warmth under my hand vanished to be replaced by the cold wall again.

"Max…" Shadow said, nearly making me jump. "This is Area 51, right? I'm willing to bet that was another offworlder."

"We've got to find Silver." I said before turning and walking quickly down the hall. "Angel…I need your help. Try to locate him."

As we hurried down the place, the whispers grew louder. Like there were prisoners behind the walls…what had the alien said? _It was all an illusion…_?

I stopped as a door opened, shedding blinding light into the hall. A white-coated man stepped out, running directly into me. I acted on instinct, knocking him backwards and into a wall.

"Let's go that way." I pointed to the opened door.

** XxXxXxXx**

"What will they do to me?" Silver asked nervously.

"Well, since there's only one of your kind here…they're probably going to cut you open and learn about your anatomy. Don't worry, they'll knock you out first…I see a few syringes over there. A few unlucky ones here didn't even get that luxury." Reo said. "Take me, for example. They've got at least ten of my kind. They might tear me open for fun."

Silver thought he was going to be sick.

"Lucky for me, us Felinam don't feel pain." Reo grinned, sinking his teeth into his own paw and drawing purplish blood. "At the worst, it will feel like my entire body is resting on pins and needles."

Silver just nodded, casting the operating table a terrified glance. A few images from the cube flashed through his mind…he thought he saw a group of whitecoats standing around laughing…

"Hey, don't worry. They won't be back for a while yet. Lunch break." Reo said. "We've got an hour, probably more."

Silver curled in the corner of his cage, drawing his knees up to his chest. "I'll never see my home again," He whispered. "Goodbye, Blaze."

"I won't either." Reo shrugged. "I don't really mind. I was a criminal back there…they wanted to kill me anyway. Then this strange power pulled me from the prison and I ended up in some woods."

"Wait…" Silver's golden eyes locked with Reo's bloodred ones. "In the woods? You ended up in some woods?"

"Yeah…then these weird werewolves came and tried to eat me." Reo said casually. "I was shipped off here eventually. Everything, of course, was hush-hush."

"That's what happened to me." Silver said. "I was with two others…but they managed to escape."

"As far as I know, they were siphoning energy from beings like me to power this thing that brought us here." Reo's catlike tail swished back and fourth.

"Same…only they were using it to locate the others." Silver stared straight out in front of him. Things from the cube began to flash through his mind again…

_Codes…number codes…papers labeled 'TOP SECRET'…a locked file…the hallway to the room…a security camera was set in a corner…darkness…the stars and moon were almost too bright for the night sky…fire…another scream…death all around…the voice gave out…there wouldn't be any more peace…fire…a doctor in surgical scrubs holding a long scalpel…the still form on the operating table…_

"What do you know about a hallway with a security camera in the corner?"

"That they're everywhere." Reo grinned again.

"One in the upper left corner of a door?" Silver tried. "The lens is red…At least, I think it is."

"Oh, that one. I saw it as I was being dragged here." Reo said. "Good thing I remember details. Yeah, that one. It's out the door to the left. Go down that hall and turn right. It's about there. Don't know why that's important, though."

"I think it's the key to saving beings from the other worlds." Silver said. "If we can get out of here and in there…we might have a chance."

There was a clang from the door to the room. Silver jumped, turning to see seven white-coated men walk in. Two of them stooped down to stare at him, terrifying expressions on their face.

"What've we got on this one?" One asked.

"Only one of its kind here. We've scheduled dissection." A man with white hair said from over by the operating table. "It's got psychokinetic power. It's greatly powered the machine."

"We've got plenty of others to use." The first man said. "We'll dissect this one."

The cage door was opened and he reached in. Silver backed up violently, kicking at his hand and trying to escape. Reo hissed loudly, startling a few of the other scientists.

"Bloody animal," The scientist growled, glaring at Reo. Silver aimed a kick at his fingers, snapping one back.

The scientist gasped, drawing his hand out of the cage and gripping at his injured finger. Silver darted out of the open cage door, dodging another scientist that tried to catch him. He ran for the door, struggling with the handle but throwing it open in another's face. He ran down the hall, trying to remember what Reo had said.

_ It's out the door to the left. Go down that hall and turn right. It's about there_…

** XxXxXxXx**

** Hurray, Silver's free! Now what will happen? Will he destroy the thing that's stealing beings from the other worlds? Will the others stay out of danger? Will Reo turn out to be everyone favorite character? (OC, by the way…)**

** Ah, oh well. Until next time, remember to review!**

** Hasta la Vista, Readers!**

** Lordoftheghostking28 **


	9. Chapter 8

** CHAPTER 8**

The well-lit hallway didn't seem to be doing us much good. For one thing, we were still used to the dark, so it burned our eyes. For another, we were completely out in the open. Also there were no doors along the walls.

"Hey, Max, talk to the wall again and get us out of here." Sonic suggested.

"Shut up." I growled.

_ What do you think the alien meant_? I stopped as I realized the Voice was speaking to me again. _That everything is an illusion_?

"Nothing's real." I said, staring around the hallway. Now that I realized it, there wasn't a single light keeping the place bright. It was though lit by magic.

_ And if that's the case, how would you see through it_?

"I don't know." I was beginning to get strange looks from the Flock.

_ Think, Max. Or better yet, believe. Normal eyes aren't the key here_.

"What?"

But the voice had gone. I stood rooted to the spot, utterly confused.

And my confusion grew as Iggy said, "Hey, there's a door here!" and went right through the wall.

** XxXxXxXx**

Silver followed Reo's directions and ended up staring down the red-lensed security camera. The door, of course, was locked; but it was no match for his power. It opened easily.

The room was pitch dark inside. The only light came from two pinpricks of purple, flashing randomly in some sort of code. Silver stepped into the room, trying to find anything that would help him light up the place.

Without warning, a loud machine-like rumble filled the room. An alarm began to go off, coating the room in red light. What Silver saw made him stumble backwards.

He was staring at some sort of monstrous device. It had to be as tall as a building, covered in steel and large pumps, buttons and wires. It began to fire up, lights flickering all over it. And it began to _move_.

It spun in a circle, the noise it made almost deafening. Silver clamped his hands over his ears, backing up until his back hit the wall. He could sense that guards were coming for him…he had to destroy the machine first! Countless worlds could be spared!

A whitecoat came running into the room, three more behind him. He was carrying what looked like a small pistol. Silver dodged to the side as they fired, hitting the wall centimeters from his head. He ducked behind some discarded material, praying that the weapons wouldn't find their mark. He couldn't hear the bullets hitting the material over the sound of the machine in the background, but he could feel them striking.

And then they stopped. Silver didn't risk looking out from his shelter until someone placed a hand firmly over his shoulder. He backed up violently, kicking and punching, until he realized who it was.

** XxXxXxXx**

Jeez, this thing was loud. I felt like my ears were about to burst. Iggy had lead us along hallways we couldn't even see until we came to this room with a giant motor or something in it. A few whitecoats were shooting at something, but we quickly disposed of them. And what they were shooting at was our friend.

"Hi, Silver!" I shouted, but I doubted he could hear me.

The confused look was wiped off his face and he sprang up, pointing to the machine and then pounding a fist into his open palm. I knew what he meant.

I motioned for the others to '_shut that thing up, pronto!_' Fang nodded, taking flight to examine the top of the thing. Iggy cast me an evil smile and pointed to Angel, who was holding the packs.

I sighed. Did he honestly have _another_ bomb? Well, I wasn't complaining. I nodded at Angel, who nudged Iggy.

He pumped his fist in the air and took one pack, drawing out a medium sized bomb.

We were all safely hidden behind crates of junk as the bomb ignited. The machine ceased to be ear-shatteringly annoying. The only sound it made now was a sad, powering down sound. I cheered.

"I think that was how we were getting pulled from our worlds." Silver said. "I met someone from another world in another room…he could be in trouble. We have to save him!"

We followed him through the halls, and once through what seemed to be the wall. Then again, it was all an illusion…

The room we entered into was big-ish, with one cage in a corner. Silver went to the right of the cage and seemed to reach through the wall. A few seconds later a catlike being crawled out of nowhere, giving us a strange look. He stood on his hind legs, putting his hands on his hips much like a person.

"I can't decide if you're human or avian." He muttered.

"Kinda both." Nudge said.

"This is Reo." Silver said. "Reo, this is the Flock; Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Angel and Gazzy. And these guys are Shadow and Sonic."

"So what are you?" Sonic asked.

"We'll worry about that later. Now we need to get everyone out of here and somehow get everyone back to their worlds." I said.

"Oh, that won't be necessary." Reo said casually. "They needed so many aliens like myself to power the machine that drew us all here. They also needed our energy to make us stay here. If the machine was destroyed, we should be taken back to our worlds in a matter of time."

"Probablem solved. Let's go steal their technology." Gazzy said.

We ran for the door, Silver and Reo leading the way. It was still slightly odd to be running through walls, but it was sure awesome. We continued on that path for a while before Reo stopped dead in his tracks, muttering, "Uh oh."

A slight glow had surrounded his body, growing brighter with each passing second. He cast us an odd-catlike smile, saying, "Well, this is it. Sadly, I wouldn't have cared to stay here…but my planet obviously has other plans." He kept grinning.

"Bye, Reo!" Angel waved.

The glow began to fade, taking the alien-cat with it. Reo was safe. I hoped many of the other aliens had already been taken back.

"Why aren't we going back?" Silver asked.

"Order of capture." Shadow suggested. "The first ones here are the first to leave. We have a bit of time left."

"Great! Technology is all ours!" Sonic snickered.

Silver lead us down a few halls and through a few walls and even through the floor in a quite invisible staircase. We found a computer lab, in which Nudge erased most of the data they had collected over the years. Fang actually took a small computer with him and Nudge swiped flash-drives.

We had a pretty good haul at the end of half an hour. A computer, flash-drives, some disks, a weird-looking thingy that just looked cool, and a headset that was complete with an eye scope that allowed me to finally see through the illusions. I began to wish I still saw the illusions, though. This place was downright creepy.

Only when we began to hear voices did we decide it was time to get out of there. That said, we began to hightail it out of there.

"Stop!"

I didn't glance back as the whitecoats began chasing after us. It was only when they began blocking our path in front of us did I begin to worry.

But then again, there's nothing you—or I—could do. Because…

By the time you read this, it's too late.

** XxXxXxXx**

** …Or is it? Is it only a chapter break? Eh, you'll just have to see. : )**

** Until next time, remember to review!**

** Hasta la Vista, Readers!**

** Lordoftheghostking28 **


	10. Chapter 9

** CHAPTER 9**

"Surrender! All of you!" One of them shouted.

I just folded my arms across my chest and glared. Angel did the same, only I think her glare came across a lot more scarier than mine. The others were mostly stunned, one by one fitting things together and trying to find a way out of this.

All the whitecoats were holding guns; although a few looked like Tazers. Either way, it was going to hurt if we got caught. I made a split-second decision and attacked, the others close behind.

We managed to dodge the fire from both waves of whitecoats and attacked the group in front of us. Most of them went down immeadentally, but a few were determined to show off a few pitiful defense moves.

Once the group in front of us was downed, we turned to the one behind us. Easy as pie. I nearly laughed.

"Let's go!" I shouted.

We began leaping over the downed scientists and then running as fast as we could. Down a few halls, up a flight of stairs…this place was looking familiar. We were almost out.

"There's the door!" Silver said.

I grabbed the handle and pulled it open as fast as I could.

…Then I began to wish I hadn't. A huge fist went flying over my head, missing by an inch and denting the steel door. I jumped out of the way as the Eraser took another swipe at me, missing like the big, clumsy thing it was.

Other Erasers were surrounding the others, but I figured they could handle them. I turned my attention back on the one in front of me, ready to take it down. I easily ducked under its flying fists, landing a few punches in its stomach and sending it stumbling backwards. A strong leap into the air followed by a kick to its head put it out of the battle.

_ Just keep them occupied long enough to buy Silver, Sonic and Shadow time to escape_. I thought to myself. _Then just get out of here. Sounds easy enough_.

More Erasers and Whitecoats were surrounding us now. I made a wild decision right there as three of the people rushed at me at the same time. I leapt into the air, dodging gunfire, and then dived back into the battle, dragging Sonic out.

Fang saw what I did and retrieved Shadow, who was still kicking at Erasers. Nudge and Iggy both grabbed Silver, who didn't seem to like flying very much.

"Let's go!" I shouted.

We began to fly as fast as we could, not stopping until we couldn't hear any commotion behind us for twenty minutes. I almost dropped Sonic fifty feet to the ground; my arms were so tired.

"That went well." Gazzy said sarcastically and a little disappointed. "We didn't even get their technology!"

I couldn't help it. I laughed.

"At least we're still all in once piece." Sonic shrugged.

"So what will you guys do when you return to your world?" Nudge asked.

All three offworlders hesitated slightly. "Well…probably get used to home again." Silver said. "It's been a while."

"I'm getting food." Sonic snickered.

"I'm avoiding you two." Shadow growled.

"What would you do? By what we've learned about each other…are you going to stay on the run?" Silver asked. "Do you ever get to rest?"

"We did…" Angel sighed. "A while ago. But sooner or later we'll have another chance to relax. Just not now. Our life isn't always this chaotic."

In the distance, a deep _boom_ rang out. I turned, expecting some sort of weapon to fire at us. Instead, smoke lazily curled into the sky from where we had escaped.

"What happened?" Fang asked.

I couldn't help but notice that Iggy and Gazzy were grinning. "What did you do?" I facepalmed.

"Iggy and I had one bomb left over!" Gazzy squealed excitedly. "And it was our last timed one too! It looks like it went off perfectly!"

I just hoped that everyone got out of there. I sighed. "What did I say about bombs and other dangerous explosives? Aaagh, you make me sound like a mother!"

The entire flock laughed at that, including Sonic, Shadow and Silver. It was about then that I noticed the soft glow surrounding the three of them that was steadily growing brighter.

"See ya." I waved. "I'm glad we got to know each other. Take care."

"Same." Sonic said, giving me a thumbs up. "Hey, Iggy and Gazzy! More bombs, the better!"

The two bird kids high-fived him. Fang rolled his eyes.

"_Until we meet again…_"

I could have sworn Shadow said something, but by that time the glow was too intense and we all shielded our eyes as they vanished. Safely back on their own planet.

"Well…that's that." I decided. "Come on. Let's go see what we can find to eat. I'm starving."

** XxXxXxXx**

** FANG'S BLOG**

This entire adventure has really gotten me thinking. More worlds out there…many more. Thousands more. Thousands with intelligent life forms that are targeted by both the School and Area 51. But not any more.

Thanks to Iggy and Gazzy, Area 51 won't be a probablem for a long, long time. The School will keep trying to track us down and capture us…but they shouldn't be much of a probablem either.

Because…by the time you read this, it's too late. I'm talking to you, Whitecoats that are tracking this blog. Yes, we know about you. We also know most of your codes and plans. Prepare to find them online if you make any move towards us or any other planets.

_ Adios, Amigos_

FANG

** XxXxXxXx**

** And that's that. Lame-ish ending…kinda. I had a lot worse planned when I originally started this fic. And what's this…? Did Shadow mention a **_**sequel**_**? **

** Hmmm…if you review, that might come true.**

** Hasta la Vista, Readers!**

** Lordoftheghostking28**


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